13 Minutes (2015) User Reviews (28)

Thoughtful and prescient

[claudecat · 8/10 · 15 July 2017]

I was lucky enough to see this film on the big screen during the brief period that it played locally. I didn't know any more about it than the basic subject, and I'm glad about that, because the film got some strangely negative reviews in the U.S. Some critics seemed to complain that it wasn't a Jason-Bourne-style thriller. Instead, it's a careful portrait of one man, and shows how both he and his village were changed by political events in their country.

I was surprised to find out the movie was originally released in Germany in 2015, because it included so many events that are happening in 2017 America: left-vs-right street violence, religious intolerance, disagreements about which party represents workers, and government officials who think torture is the best way to get the truth.

The photography is beautiful and the storytelling clear but unusual. For example, an explosion is shown from a far-off POV, as a small part of a beautiful landscape shot, instead of up close to the blast. The production design is thoroughly convincing (though I may not be a perfect judge of the authenticity of period films set in Germany), and the settings are lifelike. When a character swims in a lake, it reminds you of just what that feels like. The violence works that way, too. Though it's not gruesomely detailed and exposed in a Tarantino kind of way, you'll probably feel it more.

The acting is excellent overall. The leading actor comes across as more babyfaced and less worldly than the real Georg Elser, just judging by their respective looks, but he creates a memorable character that is never a stereotype, yet is not merely a movie eccentric. Though the brutality of the Nazis' actions is never toned down, there are still moments when some of them display a believably human sense of doubt. A minor character has his own complete arc, from downtrodden village man to local Nazi leader to someone unsure if the party has gone too far. I completely disagree with one reviewer who thought the movie was too sentimental. It doesn't lionize even its main protagonist, and shows the problematic aspects of his violent political act.

Afterward, I read about the real Georg Elser, and I was disappointed at a few of the fictional changes. I was sorry they cut out the character of Georg's sister Maria, who seems to have been important in real life, and since everything is seen through Georg's eyes, and he has limited knowledge, and we don't hear about some of the other people the Nazis persecuted and even murdered after the bombing. But you can read about this. I never would have known the story was worth investigating further if I hadn't seen this compelling film.

Working class hero

[Karl Self · 8/10 · 1 March 2015]

Unlike so many subsidised movies about the Nazi era, this one isn't superficial and moralistic. Instead it tries to, and succeeds in, painting an authentic portrait of the prewar Nazi era in a village in rural Germany. Most of all, the movie is captivating. We get under the skin of this idiosyncratic carpenter who missed changing world history, and possibly saving tens of millions of lives, by a margin of just 13 minutes.

The movie stands of as one of the few who manage to depict what it could have been like to live under the Nazi dictatorship. What would you do if one of your friends was sent off to do forced labour, or another one was pilloried for her supposedly immoral behaviour. As the benefactors of a free society, we would like to think that we would stand up against such injustice. This movie conveys how difficult, how impossible it was to be decent under the Nazi yoke. It goes much to Georg Elser's credit that he tried to do the impossible nevertheless.

The downfall that wasn't

[paul2001sw-1 · 7/10 · 24 August 2018]

Some assassins (and would-be assasins) are highly politcally motivated. Others are just crazy. Oliver Hirschbiegel's film about Georg Elser, who single-handedly attempted to Kill Adolf Hitler in 1939, suggests he was neither; or at least, that his political antipathy to the Fuehrer was driven by a more generalised disgust at the sheer ugliness and banal brutality of life under the Nazis. Hisrschbiegl previously made the brilliant 'Downfall' about Hitler's final days; this film is somewhat less awesome, in part because it focuses on Elser's arrest and interrogation, and tells the story of his earlier life in flashback, removing some of its sense of immediacy. It's still an interesting story, not about a hero in the classical sense, but about a good man, and a brave one.

Story worth telling

[peefyn · 7/10 · 7 November 2015]

Movie about assassination-attempts has a natural point to use as its climax: the attempt itself. It would not be easy to keep the ending surprising if the target is Adolf Hitler, and the year 1939. This movie thankfully does not attempt to build to the grand assassination attempt, but opens with it, and spends the rest of the runtime pondering: Who is this Elser guy? What did he do? How did he do it? Why did he do it? It does this by using the interrogations as a sort of frame, and then delving into episodes from Elser's life. It does not attempt to tell his entire life story, but rather pick scenes helpfully to understand the state of mind he was in during that pivotal moment in 1939.

This is an interesting story that is very much worth telling. Elser seems to be an extraordinary character, and it's one of those moments in history where everything could have been completely different. The movie has taken some shortcuts though, as is to be expected. Elser is shown as both a clever, talented man (as he was), but at also with some faults. He is shown as almost apolitical, which makes for an interesting character, but the movie would have been better if they had explored what is known about Elser's actual relationship with Nazism.

Over all it is a movie worth seeing, even though it is easy to be bored by all of the movie about the brave men who fought Nazism, as they often spend very little time on how Nazis also were people. Good vs evil is a misrepresentation. That said, this movie handles much better than many other movies with similar subjects.

Interesting

[kyliem11 · 7/10 · 10 April 2016]

Interesting movie about a failed attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler in 1939. The lead character Elser, well played by Christian Friedel, is a young carpenter who see's trouble coming in the form of Hitler and decides to do something about it. We start with the assassination, which fails by 13 minutes, hence the title, because Hitler leaves early. The rest of the story is told using flashbacks while Elser is being interrogated. Some of the interrogation methods used are quite brutal and show what it must have been like if you crossed the Nazi party back in the thirties and forties.

This true story is well told and makes interesting viewing.

Biography about Georg Elser , a German worker who planned and carried out an elaborate assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler in Munich

[ma-cortes · 7/10 · 20 April 2016]

In November 1939, Georg Elser's (Christian Friedel) attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler fails , and he is arrested . During his confinement , the man who recognized the danger emanating from Hitler sooner than many others recalls the events -by means of flashbacks- leading up to his plot and his reasons for deciding to take such drastic action . As it relates the background of the failed attack in the Bürgerbräukeller . As the exciting story takes us from his early years in the Swabian Alps - when National Socialism arrived in his hometown . Meanwhile , Gestapo detains his girlfriend Elsa (Katharina Schüttler). At the end takes us to his last days at the Dachau concentration camp .

This acceptable and intriguing movie deals with the resistance fighter George Elser , a man who could have changed world history and saved millions of human lives. His life and the famous event from how was orchestrated the dangerous , risked plot was professionally directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel . The film is correctly based on true events and real Nazis characters and well played by a fine plethora of German actors such as Christian Friedel , Katharina Schüttler and Burghart Klaußner as Nebe . The movie gives an actual , suspenseful, emotional portrayal of Georg Elser ; packing intense drama , thrills , chills , brutal tortures and portentous interpretations . There is a meticulous and cruelty description of tortures . Torture scenes being depicted in great detail and crudity , though it results to be shocking and excessive , displaying a detailed exploitation violence . Efficiently directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel , though with no originality ¨. At the beginning , Oliver directed some episodes of TV series as Kommissar Rex and Baby Rex . His greatest hit smash is , of course , the magnificent ¨Downfall¨ and working for Hollywood in : ¨The invasion¨ with Nicole Kidman and shooting ¨Five minutes of heaven¨ . His greatest hits were ¨The experiment¨ and ¨The downfall¨.

The picture is well based on historical events , these are the followings : on 8 November 1939 Elser carried out a failed attempt to assassinate Hitler and other high-ranking Nazi leaders , he , then is detained . A time bomb that Elser constructed and placed near the speaking platform failed to kill Hitler, who left earlier than expected, but killed eight people and injured over sixty-two others. Unknown to Elser, Hitler had initially cancelled his speech at the Bürgerbräukeller to devote his attention to planning the imminent war with France, but changed his mind and attended after all. As Hitler ordered Heinrich Himmler to put Arthur Nebe , head of Kripo (Criminal Police), in charge of the investigation into the Munich bombing. Himmler did this, but also assigned total control of the investigation to the chief of the Gestapo, Heinrich Müller. Müller immediately ordered the arrest of all Bürgerbräukeller personnel, while Nebe ran the onsite investigation, sifting through the debris. Nebe had early success, finding the remains of brass plates bearing patent numbers of a clock maker in Schwenningen, Baden-Würtemberg. Despite the clear evidence of the German make, Himmler released to the press that the metal parts pointed to 'foreign origin' . Himmler offered a reward of 500,000 marks for information leading to the capture of the culprits, and the Gestapo was soon deluged with hundreds of suspects. Elser was transferred from Múnich prison to to Berlin Gestapo Headquarters . His parents, siblings and their spouses, together with his former girlfriend Else Härlen, were taken by train to Berlin to be held in Moabit prison and then in the grand Hotel Kaiserhof . His mother, sister Maria Hirth, brother-in-law Karl Hirth and Else Härlen were also cruelly interrogated . Apart from Maria Hirth and her husband, who were considered accomplices and imprisoned for over one year, the family members and Else Härlen were allowed to return home . Elser was held as a prisoner for over five years until executed at the Dachau concentration camp.

Intense war drama about a man whose story has been little-told

[Red-Barracuda · 9/10 · 19 June 2015]

Oliver Hirschbiegel directed the celebrated war drama Downfall (2004) about the last week in the life of Adolf Hitler. With his new movie 13 Minutes, he returns to the subject of life in Nazi Germany but this time events are set mainly in the years leading up to the war. More specifically it focuses on a man who tried unsuccessfully to kill Hitler in the early months of a conflict that would go on to claim 55 million lives. The man is Georg Elser, who was a carpenter who was unaffiliated with any political party. He worked alone and set up a bomb that was set to go off in a beer hall where Hitler had a scheduled meeting. The film's title comes from the fact that the assassination attempt was ultimately unsuccessful, given that the Fuhrer left the target location thirteen minutes ahead of schedule. Oddly, Elser is a man who is little known. This is especially strange when you consider how well known the later assassination attempt on Hitler by Claus von Stauffenberg is. Elser by contrast seems to have been marginalised by history, which is why this film is so welcome as this is a man who deserves to have his story celebrated. Aside from a few intimate conversations and moments, the details contained in this film are based on historical accounts.

The structure of the story is told from the point that Elser is caught just after the bombing. From here he is interrogated by the Nazis and the story flashes back in sections so that we see how this musician/carpenter came to ultimately undertake his dangerous act. In taking this approach, the film is able to not only tell a historical drama but to also look at Nazi Germany in the years leading up to the war, specifically life in the countryside. Life in German rural villages always seems somewhat idyllic as was exploited by the Heimat films of the time and so it is especially jarring to see life continue in such a place but with an ever increasing Nazi presence, initially shown by the presence of small groups of brown shirts through to large swastika flags draped all over town leading ultimately to active persecution of citizens. People undesirable to the Nazis are taken away or pilloried by the authorities and the people of the village feel powerless to do anything about it. The film considers just how hard it was to actually go counter to the Nazi system at the time, seeing that all aspects of life were geared against disobedience to the Nazi state.

13 Minutes is a very good film because it combines a little know but important story with a setting in Nazi Germany rarely focused on. The performances are universally excellent and the overall authenticity is impressive. This extends to some disturbing torture scenes which feature actual Nazi interrogation methods. It's, therefore, a fairly intense film but one that surprisingly finds new things to tell us about a period in history which has had so many cinematic treatments and documentaries. It should go some way to elevate Elser himself more into the public consciousness and ensure his actions are never forgotten.

I wish Hirschbiegel and Breinersdorfer had Elser's bravery

[Horst_In_Translation · 6/10 · 1 November 2015]

"Elser" is a German movie from this year that runs slightly under 2 hours. The director is Oliver Hirschbiegel and you may have seen his Oscar nominee "Der Untergang" or "Das Experiment". This one here is his newest work and just like "Der Untergang", it is another movie closely related to Nazi Germany. Fred and Léonie-Claire Breinersdorfer is a father-daughter pairing and we will probably see more of them in the future. The woman has worked mostly on television so far, while her father has written the Oscar nominated "Sophie Scholl" among other films.

The lead actor is Christian Friedel, who you may or may not have seen in Michael Haneke's "Das weiße Band". Just like in that one, Friedel plays alongside Burghart Klaußner, who plays the biggest supporting character here. Of course, Friedel plays the title character in this one. Georg Elser was German resistance fighter who tried to assassinate Hitler long before Stauffenberg and yet the latter has many films (inclusing Tom Cruise's) made about him why Elser has almost none. I saw Klaus Maria Brandauer played him once roughly 25 years ago, but even that movie hardly anybody saw. So why isn't Elser more famous in film. I can only speculate here. Maybe there is not enough known about his life before or after the assassination attempt or maybe he simply is not an interesting character.

In any case, I just checked for Katharina Schüttler's character and I cannot find anything about a woman named Elsa in Elser's life. Also I cannot see how closely Nebe really was to Elser. Yes he probably played a role in a later assassination attempt, but did he really know and directly meet Elser? I guess it may be true that we simply do not know enough about the real Elser to make this a fascinating and authentic watch. About Katharina Schüttler, I kind of like her as an actress, but somehow I feel her characters, especially the historic ones, are frequently very similar, so that it looks to me that she keeps playing the same characters. I hope she will get out of that niche soon. I'm sure she has the talent. Burghart Klaußner is easily one of my favorite actors and I was certainly curious about him in this one as he also scored another German Film Awards nomination, but as a whole I was sadly fairly underwhelmed by him. I guess the character was not written interestingly enough for Klaußner to make a lasting impression like he did with Fritz Bauer recently. Johann von Bülow plays the epitome evil Nazi official, something we have seen a hundred times already in the same manner.

This is also generally the problem of the movie: The only thing somewhat innovative here is that the title character is fairly unknown today, but the story and everything they constructed around him was not innovative by any means. Of course, it's difficult to bring something new to the table with all these Nazi movies made, but Hirschbiegel has done it before, so I am a bit disappointed it became all so generic here. One interesting elaboration could have been for example why Elser wasn't killed right away after he confessed, but lived on for another 5 years. Pretty strange if you try to kill the Fuehrer isn't it? And maybe Neve should have gotten his own movie. He felt a bit wasted here. Still, all in all, not a bad watch by any means, just a mediocre script that does not do justice to the character of Georg Elser I am sure. Could have been a lot more this movie. Still worth a watch for everybody with an interest in German history of the 20th century.

An (unusual?) view of war resistance from a German against Nazi's.

[relate-47835 · 8/10 · 13 July 2017]

Most films about Nazi war era is made about victims of any Other ethnic, social group and I have never heard of a common-man-German's resistance nor any Germanic people daring to act against the strict, strident Nazi forces. WWII was horrendous.

This film makes that vision clear and scary, still today. Nazis, as they were clearly depicted in "13 minutes" film still inflicted fear in an audience who knew they were sitting in a safe movie theater…and yet the fanaticism and coldness, heartless obedience was shown, effectively.

And without extra drama or fluff or exaggerations to get ratings or profits. This movie is a necessary 'correction' to the more popular WWII movies, those depicted with "victim-fighting-and-losing" or "victim-turns-hero-and-wins" – the popular, very common versions.

These Nazis were mainly shown as males, as stiff, sharp, stone-immobile -faced and with rigid bodies, even in gestures, expressions & all their movements. Surprisingly, only very few Nazi females were included in film, to balance the understanding of which Germans submitted, why so many Germans obeyed, or how most Germans actually lived their lives within those actual Nazi enforced strictures. yet. these were believable. As was the man who refused them - and suffered strongly for disobedience.

The movie tension was constant & visceral - felt strongly, throughout most of the long movie- even in flashbacks and scenes of the hero's attempts to explain himself after being caught. Torture was difficult to watch - and though this writer is mostly proud of "facing reality, no matter what it is" did close eyes and ears at 2 points to not indulge in horrors on screen.

And to avoid having later prolonged effects from seeing real-life torture, as viewed on such a Big Screen - with loud sounds & music, with gore, extreme pains shown. The cruelty was so easily inflicted - and the helpless of this proud man, who was very brutally punished. For disagreeing, disobeying, failing.

There are No Heroics in watching brutal humanity enjoying or obediently acting-out-orders. The inclusion of no-apparent-exaggerations- but here probably showing realistic depictions - were acted out dramatically, as subtly as is necessary, to make this film appear valid.

"13 minutes" should be seen by all & anyone who has been alive - then and who escaped such pains. And equally by those who have never lived inside such war-gutted societies and with the people who collude in wars - do so for their safety - or they lived there for their benefits of being with those who are the "Winners and In Power & Control" - or are those who collude, and become collaborators. Or those who had to be there mainly for their body-survival - as occurs, in any war, any where else.

Especially those of a younger demographic should view this film, which exposes Germans and Nazis more realistically than American or some other Japanese/European movies dare do.

A Hero is one who acts on their own honorable, responsible, ethical convictions - not hurting others - but who act to prevent worse happening to others too, in their world/ town/ country.

Not to "kill 'em all & sort them out later" . But a hero has to have serious convictions and to be personally courageous - to take personal actions that may put that person in serious danger . To do something on & with purpose - to prevent worse happening for others – that becomes a higher calling / purpose.

Comparatively, all other -mostly American- movies that are Not nearly as realistic, pointed and directed to our heads, as is this one. This film is not just to provoke fear & easy emotions. Most others do not meet the level of truth & honesty, as is well depicted here.

Authentic movie based on a true story

[Luigi Di Pilla · 7/10 · 1 October 2017]

I liked how this movie was told. It's a great experience seeing this retrospective. The actor who played Georg Elser delivered a very respectable job. The message he tried to transmit to the Nazis wasn't understood unfortunately. He was a very clever and courageous man. We should never forget him even if his plan failed. Just imagine what happened to all the humanity if Adolf Hitler lost his life in the bomb attack. The locations were well developed and I felt really to be in the scene. Watch it, you won't regret. 7/10.

An unsung Hero and his world

[toppcguy · 10/10 · 30 July 2017]

13 Minutes ("Elser – Er hätte die Welt Verändert") What happens to an alert, clear thinking man when he alone among all Germans sees how to prevent the tremendous suffering that Hitler's regime threatened in the 1930's?

Georg Elser, the would-be hero of this astute film was the opposite in so many ways to the fearless leader - with talented hands he made music and useful things, brought joy to his family and friends and represents the other kind, the conscientious Aryan, shoved into the background by the malevolent direction in which his nation was so misled twice in recent history.

Just as Herr Drumpf's (Trump) reign of terror against his enemies would likely fizzle without its fuhrer, Deustschland could have been spared the terrible fate forced on them and 55 million other souls, and Elser knew someone had to try and do something about it.

Amidst events, all seemingly with life-or-death consequences, is the overpowering love of Georg and Elsa. The unlikely couple's tragedy and triumph is a photograph of humanity that survives beyond the end of the 110 minutes of this 2015 film.

The title, translated into English, says it well: "Elser - he would have changed the world".

A man who tried to rewrite the history.

[Reno-Rangan · 6/10 · 24 October 2016]

This is a German film based on a real person called Georg Elser who attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler in the 1939. From the director of 'Diana' fame and it was one of the contenders from the Germany to represent the nation at the 88th American Academy Awards, but in the end it lost the bet to another WWII drama. So if you are interested in the WWII, then you should try it. But remember this is not a war film like guns and bombs, it just takes place around the same time.

The film reveals something we never knew before. Georg Elser is a carpenter by profession and a part time musician. Hails from the rural Germany who falls in love with a married woman. But the real story begins after he failed his mission, later he caught by police and tortured to confess his crime. Then it takes us a few years back and reveals part by part his life and the event related to the opening scene.

Basically, this film ends before beginning to take off. Precisely to say, when the Elser's plan flopped/ended, the film almost lost its strength. Just like the title says, that 13 minutes of the film was something like a short film. But what comes later were different than all the information I read about the film. So the rest of the film was an interrogation that tells both his personal life, as well as how he prepared to kill the Hitler and the reason behind it.

Little slow and mostly boring, nonetheless inspired by a real person makes this watchable. Because what he attempted was not some silly thing. If, if he had succeeded that, the history would have been rewritten. Maybe the aftermath of that, who knows what the world would have looked like right now without the WWII. The tension might have still persisted, but kind of impossible to predict anything particular about that theory.

"If humanity is not free, everything dies with it."

Anyway, Georg Elser's personal life was not that interesting, but I am disappointed about this film that failed to disclose his intellectual undertaking to show us on the screen very inspiring way or maybe you can say thrill way. Because those parts comes and goes like a shooting star, I mean that fast. The remaining film drags mostly with drama. Since the storytelling was split into frequent of the present timeline (1939) and flashbacks, some of the important events kept for the final revelation, but did not strike.

Some of the scenes were raw, but not as much as a few the WWII films I had seen. The problem for me was it is not sentimental as it should have been. Because many events how they have turned out should have had left the strong feeling on the viewers. It's not the bad performances, I actually liked everybody, but the screenplay was not designed for its full potential. I don't know what is the original source material, but it was like they hurried to make it without more research.

When a film is a biography, I don't care about the entertainment. But I always look for the reason why it deserved to be a film. In that perspective, this film interested me for just one reason and that's I already mentioned somewhere in the above. I did not like as much as the critics and some of the film fanatics did. All I wanted was it to be a little clever, maybe a fine editing to place the scenes at the right spots would have saved it. I think I can suggest it, just to know about this person, but other than the its nothing very impressive. Mostly anybody would predict the story, especially the conclusion.

6.5/10

Good, but could have been better and more informative

[emailbillphillips · 5/10 · 4 November 2017]

Actually, it's a really good movie, but the "5" is for totally repugnant graphic violence. It's not necessary to smear the viewer with torture depiction in order to make your point and tell a story.

The more I think about it, the story could have been told heroically from a completely different perspective. I read the "true" story after watching the movie. Rather than make most of the story about the torture and confession, the story could have been told from the point of view of the ingenious months of planning, building, and particularly the installation of the bomb.

The movie makes it look like the bomb was installed in one night, but instead, it really took weeks, with repeatedly difficult trips (over 30) to the location, a remarkable feat that the movie only hints at. The fact that after months of planning, design, assembly, and installation, Elser missed Hitler by only 13 minutes is astounding.

Maybe the fault is in the limited information conveyed by the subtitles. There are confusing moments in the movie that are easily cleared up by just reading the Wikipedia bio of Elser.

History and what led to that point

[kosmasp · 6/10 · 23 June 2016]

Obviously this being based on an actual event (or events for that matter), this had to be made with great care. And you can feel the weight that lies upon this movie. But it never falters under it. It does stand its ground, which is a tough thing to do. Even tougher when you realize how many movies about Hitler have been made and what they all try to accomplish.

While it is based on something that happened, as with almost every other movie, it takes a couple of liberties. One of them being the time-line jumps. You may be in the "present" (that's late 40s for you), but the movie always skips back and looks on things that are being discussed or generally a look on the character and what he's been through. Not as much as some others obviously, having friends and what not, but still a more than engaging story that is worth telling indeed

It was a good film. Nice profile of a man. Enjoined

[subxerogravity · 7/10 · 11 July 2017]

So I did not quite get the title. Maybe I missed it. At first, I assumed that the main character had a 13 minute window to kill Hitler and he missed it. I gonna go with that theory, cause the other one is that this plot in the movie was likely 13 minutes of the 114 minute film.

Most of the film is a profile on the main character based on a true story. How he lived his life as a musician in Germany during the Nazi reign and about a love affair he was having with a married women. It's fascinating how many films about World War two are coming out lately. I'm seeing one in the theaters every mouth. It's seems like the world wants to reminisce about that time (And I say the world cause none of these films are American). In some case I feel like it's a those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it situation. In other cases, I think it's an issue of just a new story about World War 2 just pops up. In the case of this guy, the movie indicates that it was very recent that they uncovered his status as a resistance fighter and his plans to create a very crafty device that can blow up The Führer

So I would say this, that I liked the movie. It's more about the man who tried to blow up Hitler vs. about his plan to blow up Hitler but it is an engaging story.

Excellent story

[sergelamarche · 9/10 · 26 August 2018]

Great acting for a story worth knowing. Elser is a true hero that understood early the extreme danger the Nazi was for Germany itself. Effectively, the germans had lost their minds to think they would not have eventually to pay for their murderous rampages. However, historically, if his murder had succeeded, germany could have done better during the war and maybe even won it, since a few bad decisions were later attributed to Hitler himself, like the attack on Russia instead of England.

A disturbing, moving film.

[Pairic · 8/10 · 19 November 2017]

I liked the film, thought the structured flashbacks worked well. Georg Elser was an enigmatic character, motivated by Christian Socialism. Originally only interested in women & music, he moved from pacifism in 1932 to becoming a bomber in 1939. Regretting but accepting that collateral damage would occur in his attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler.

Interesting also in how it dealt with Arthur Nebe, the policeman who went along to get along. In the background the extermination of "lunatics" is discretely discussed. When Oberfuhrer Nebe learns the lists from various institutions is ready he orders weedkiller.

Interrogated by Nebe and Gestapo Oberfuhrer Muller. Elser at first refuses to speak despite torture only capitulating when his fiancé is threatened. Even then his interrogators refuse to accept that he acted alone.

A disturbing, moving film.

It is perfect

[eser_ordem · 10/10 · 5 February 2017]

This film is really perfect. It shows the essence of intellectuality. We are often between society's choices and personal choices. Elser chooses the latter. Therefore, it has a universal value.Everybody needs to watch this movie since it criticizes the system. One should not expect action. It also gives some clues about love. I hope that when you watch it, you will agree because it is about independence, freedom, and intellectuality. It is Kantian in this sense. There are also flashbacks in the movie. This movie can affect the audience's personal choices. Therefore, those who want to pursue freedom can easily adapt to this movie. I strongly recommend everybody that aims to reinforce personal choices and conflicts.

A fine hero in a brutal time.

[JohnDeSando · 9 October 2017]

"If humanity isn't free, everything dies with it." Georg Elser (Christian Friedel)

I love Nazi-related films: those uniforms, certainty of their mission, and their embodiment of evil. The docudrama 13 Minutes is more a love story than a carefully-historical account of Georg Elser's failed attempt to assassinate Hitler in 1939. Successfully paralleling the complexity of Elser's love for a married woman, Elsa (Katharina Schuttier), director Oliver Hirschbiegel shows the eccentric character of Elser's motives for the attempt and the Nazis' uncertainty about his ideals.

The bulk of the docudrama is Elser's interrogation, especially by the ambivalent Arthur Nebe (Burghart Klaußner), whose sympathies emerge only later in the story. Other Nazis are central casting: handsome, spiffy, focused, and scary. Throughout, the filmmakers emphasize Elser's dogged honesty and willingness to be even more honest in the face of threats against Elsa.

Although the love affair with her occupies the major part of the film, including the oafish drunken husband, Erich (Rudiger Klink), the emphasis on interrogation remains at times repetitive and inconsequential, even in the face of Hitler's demand to know who supported Elser's attempt. The film loses power as it becomes clear he devised the plot on his own even with the Nazi's brutal attempts to extract his accomplices' names.

As one interrogator asks, how could "an ethnic German hate the Fuhrer so much?"--an echo of today's anti-Trump mantra.

Speaking of which, a sequence after drug inducement seems completely extraneous give the re-hashed and jumbled images. In essence, 13 Minutes is uncertain which way to go: torture or love story. In the end it has a weak rendition of both.

"Hitler is war — and if he goes, there will be peace." Interrogator

failed assassination

[cdcrb · 4/10 · 4 July 2017]

I notice all the reviews are very good. interesting. what I thought was going to be an edge of your seat attempted assassination of Hitler thriller turned out to be a sappy and dumb love story. with a little assassination thrown in. i expected intrigue and suspense. I was writing the screen play as we went along, especially the love story parts. I could see what was coming a mile away. a big disappointment.

A Few Minutes That Might Have Changed History And Saved Millions Of Lives

[AudioFileZ · 9/10 · 27 August 2016]

I'm always interested in WWII history as my father served. Only having heard vaguely of this attempt in a History Channel program about the attempts on Hitler's life I had never been aware of the facts and the larger story of the man behind the first unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler. 13 Minutes depicts this brilliant lone man's attempt to end a mad man's rule reverently for history. As much as a terribly tragic story can, it also explains his despair for taking eight other lives while Hitler escaped unharmed.

Aptly titled this movie drives home the point of how likely it was a 13 minute period, the time between Hitler's exit and the bomb's detonation likely allowed millions and millions of innocent deaths during Hitler's bloody reign. Equally important for Americans is the unspoken belief that the war may have de-escalated to the point where Japan may have thought better of attacking at Pearl Harbor. Of course, 13 minutes made what could have been a world altering difference.

The story of Gorg Elser should be remembered. There were many Germans who never believed Hitler was a righteous leader. Of many, however, few ever acted so complete was Hitler's henchmen in their terrorizing constant threat of torture and death. Elser was a rare anomaly. So rare, Hitler himself couldn't accept a common laborer, who refused to join the National Socialist Party could conceive and carry out such a well executed bombing. There would be, in time, deadly punishment in the ranks for failure to uncover co-conspirators. This kind of evil hubris underscores the madness of Hitler's brand of vile leadership.

This is a no-nonsense film that layers on, literally, nothing to make a story more incredible. It's just a vivid snapshot of a time and place where one man couldn't just stand by and watch. Christian Friedel does an admirable job of recreating how humanity can be trampled on yet survive to do something beyond the believable. His acting skills, along with the excellent writing and direction, put one in his shoes…and, it's quite uncomfortable. It's truly poignant. The Gestapo henchmen all bring the required menace to counterpoint the dire evil the Nazis defended to. It's a film to weigh the cost of regaining something right when everything is only worsening. In the end you'll celebrate the bravery, and likely forgive the collateral damage, of Georg Elser and within that there is a powerful lesson. Our world around us is still fighting. Evil forces still exist. Thus we should all watch this movie because there is so much we have yet to learn. A must see.

13 minutes ahead..

[suprabhattacharya · 8/10 · 2 July 2019]

In 1939 there was an attempt on the life of Adolf Hitler by George Elser,a German carpenter,which failed and he was forced to reveal the plot and the reason behind his action. The film was set in Pre World War II period,When Hitler was expanding his reich like a maniac violating the treaties.

I thought the film to be a thrilling account of a well knit plan of assassinating the Fuhrer but it turns out to be a dramatical adaptation of the scenario of Germany back then leading to elser's desperate attempt on the life of Hitler.The people in germany practising Communism was arrested and tortured in concentration camps and also forced to no wage labour back in the late 30's.According to Elser-" I reasoned the situation in Germany could only be modified by a removal of the current leadership, I mean Hitler, Goering and Goebbels ... I did not want to eliminate Nazism ... I was merely of the opinion that a moderation in the policy objectives will occur through the elimination of these three men".

From the director of Downfall ,the film focuses as I said previously on working class scenario under dictatorship.Christian Friedel(elser) was quite good in bringing out the George Elser in him,how he changed from a casually chivalrous boy to a serious person in the course of events.All the things fell in the right place..acting,direction,screenplay.The actress playing the role of Elser's fiancee was quite revealing so was the man playing his best friend forced into no wage labour in concentration camp.The film overthrew the detailis as an assassination film should have and forces us to reason the activities of Elser who could change the world if he was successful.The film vividly captures the condition of German citizens...their fear of reprisal for acting against Hitler..how they were living without life apparently independent but actually in the gunpoints of Gestapo.

For a good, historical drama that is not overly sentimental, see 13 Minutes

[texshelters · 8/10 · 16 September 2017]

13 Minutes, a Review

IN A WORLD...OF WORN OUT SUPER HEROES, TIRED REMAKES AND SEQUELs, COMES A FILM SO SHOCKING MULTIPLEXES ALL OVER THE NATION WOULDN'T SHOW IT. FROM A COUNTRY THAT BROUGHT US THE Nazis, RELIABLE CARS AND SCHADENFREUDE COMES a film about a socialist trying to kill Hitler in 1939 in Munich?! 13 Minutes is a film so audacious that it shows that socialists were not always the bad guys.

The Nazis and Socialists, along with your standard capitalist parties, were fighting for control of the hearts, minds and power in Germany, we'll say since the end of World War I because that's the point in which 13 Minutes first mentions the conflict.

Spoiler alert!: the Nazis were elected to power and systematically started to remove their opponents through work camps, torture, and their favorite, murder. Mild mannered carpenter and socialist sympathizer Georg Elser, played adroitly by Christian Friedel, sees the atrocities of the Nazis. Like many Germans, he decided to resists. In his case, he planned to blow up Hitler, a fantasy many of us had in our youth.

We learn all of this right in the beginning, in the trailer actually. What unfolds is the Nazis attempt to understand how this "lowly carpenter" could have done this alone. Their technique for "understanding" include various forms of torture that would have made Spanish Inquisitors sit up and take notice. What also unfolds is the cause of Elser coming to such a radical decision and his many romances, including the love of his life.

I assume that more of us would have found a way to flee Germany when the Nazis started killing people in our town. I would have chosen the "flight" route myself. Not good old, crafty Elser, who patriotically, as the film plays it, decided to take action. He planted a bomb that missed his target by...some amount of minutes. I don't want to spoil it for you.

The acting is one of the best things about the film. From the bit parts, to the incredibly scary Nazis (IT has nothing on these Nazis), to the love interests, to the towns people, to the socialists, they were all well played. Moreover, the portrayal of the Hitler youth was more frightening than anything I saw in IT.

The costuming and settings were impeccable and the filming framed the action in a simple yet interesting manner. It is German cinema, after all, from the director who brought us the gut- wrenching "Downfall." The music was not overwrought or cloying like Hans Zimmer's "Dunkirk" soundtrack. Overall, the production values show the best of modern cinema.

The parts that don't work could have been fixed with one more pass through the script. There are scenes where the leads, Elser specifically, act out of character. A line or two, five minutes more of screen time, would have solved these issues. While we know the character of Elser, his actions don't match that character in two important ways. Most people won't notice, and I wholeheartedly recommend 13 Minutes.

Rating: Pay Full Price.

Peace, Tex Shelters

Important historical drama fails to live up in this movie

[paul-allaer · 5/10 · 19 August 2017]

"13 Minutes" (2015 release from Germany; 114 min.; original title: Elser: Er hätte die Welt verändert--Elser: He Would've Changed the World") brings the story of Georg Elser. As the movie opens, we see him installing the bombing device to attempt to assassinate Hilter in Munich on November 8, 1939. Alas, the attempt fails as Hitler unexpectedly leaves earlier than planned. It's not long before Elser is picked up by the Nazis, and the interrogation starts. We then go back in time to 1932 to learn more about what drove Elser. At this point we're 15 min. into the movie but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: first, while I was aware of the fact that Hilter was almost assassinated at one point, this is the first time that I learn of the details of it. In theory this should make for a riveting drama. Alas, as brought by director Oliver Hirschbiegel (who previously gave us the excellent "Diana" bio-pic starring Naomi Watts), this is anything but riveting. The primary reason for this is that the acting is just all too staged, you can practically hear Hirschbiegel yell "and... ACTION!". It bothered me quite a bit, and it's a shame as this is an important "detail" of WWII that more people should understand better. Beware as well that some of the torture scenes are very intense and not easy to watch. Bottom line: this movie feels like a missed opportunity...

This movie premiered in Germany in early 2015. I have no idea what now, two and a half years later, this shows up out of the blue at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati. The early Saturday screening where I saw this at was attended so-so (5 people in total). I can't see this playing in the theater very long. If you are interested in the movie, you'll have to most likely check it out on VOD or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray.

UNLUCKY 13

[MadamWarden · 8/10 · 28 February 2021]

Wow, well those were definitely the unluckiest 13 minutes of all time. 55 million deaths could have been averted.

A really well made and acted movie about a story that I didn't know but certainly is worth knowing.

Well paced and edited. Usually historical jump cuts don't work but they really worked well here.

I thoroughly recommend this movie showing that it's in all of us to change destiny if we truly follow our convictions.